I am What I am
by Ralf Jones
Summary: All the killing, all the deaths, it was all to protect Woodbury, someone had to do it, no matter the price to be paid, of course, that was until the man they saw as leader betrayed them...RATED: M for Language and violence, also no Shumpert in the characters filter? THATS JUST WRONG!
1. One Pull of the Trigger

**I am What I am**

**Chapter 1: One Pull of the Trigger**

A leader is the source of strength of a group…

The one who stands strong where others would fall and break under the pressure, indeed, the weight of leadership is one that not many can bear.

The days after the outbreak are still fresh in his mind, the masses trying to get to safety, moving wildly without direction…such days were the ones that took the precious people in his life…

Those were the days before Woodbury of course…

Before he was found and taken in, before he was given food and shelter…

The days before meeting the Governor…

A natural leader he was, strong and charismatic, always worrying about the people, the kind of man that many thought no longer existed in the world after the outbreak.

There was darker side to him of course, and him, like many others willingly followed his orders…no matter how ruthless, in this new world weakness was not allowed, not when the people back in Woodbury needed to be feed.

In the end he was a soldier and because of that he followed the Governor's orders without doubts or complains, those orders were for the greater good, for the people of Woodbury.

"I am what I am…" he lost count of how many he has said that to himself...

Every man, woman and child in that town depended on them, the trusted few that did whatever it took to secure food and resources, and under the leadership of the Governor they were sure to survive…

And so, he followed that man loyally, no matter how many people he had to kill…

It was for the good people of Woodbury…

That was until today…

The man that he once saw as a great leader was now slaughtering the very people they had fought for so long to protect…

The man is merciless gunning down the people that once followed him loyally, no emotion, not even when he puts a bullet in Allen's head, the only one who was willing to go back to the prison to avenge his son.

He moves to the field then, putting a bullet in each and every fallen soldier…

It was over…

After this they would never be able to return to Woodbury…

It was over…

And so Caesar Martinez did the only thing he could…

"Fuck this…"

In one swift motion he raises his gun, however the Governor takes notice and quickly turns, trying in vain to move for cover…his guns are out of ammo…

And so, the roar of the Heckler & Koch MP5K echoes throughout the lonely road, a quick burst expertly aimed hits its intended target, a spray of blood erupts from the Governor's side though he surprisingly manages to stay on his feet.

He growls in anger raising his empty gun…

And once again the sound of gunfire breaks the silence, but this time it is the Norinco Type 56 that fires, the man once known as the Governor is torn apart by the full automatic fire.

The bloody mess that was his body hits the ground and stays still forever…the shots on his head are proof of that…

Martinez throws a glance to his right, Shumpert nods quietly to him a walks over…

"What do we do now?" it is a simple question, but in the end Martinez has no answer…

"I don't know Shump…for now let's just put a few rounds in the bodies left; we don't need bitters coming for us while we try to figure out what to do…"

As always the big man just nods, and turns to the field just in time to see movement…

Automatically both men raise their weapons, one of the bodies is moving…

However, they are surprised to see a woman move from underneath the body…

"Karen!"

They move quickly to the field, carefully stepping near the bodies, putting a bullet in those who still have their heads intact.

"Where's the Governor?" she asks, slowly rising to her feet, she's visibly shaking, scared out of her mind, eyes moving over the place trying to catch a glimpse of the man in question…

Martinez and Shumpert exchange glances before the former answers her "We killed him…"

As soon as she takes in that information she is visibly relieved, however the look in her eyes quickly turns to anger…

"Why the hell did you let him do this?!" she screams, hate filled tears spilling from her eyes "You could have stopped him from the start!"

Both men remain silent; they know she's right, and so they let her vent her anger on them…

However this time the silent man is the one to speak "You need to get back to Woodbury Karen…the people need to know what happened"

That actually surprises her "W-Why...what are going do?" despite her anger she actually sounds concerned, but her question receives no answer…

They can't go back…

However, lady luck is a treacherous mistress…

The sound of approaching vehicles breaks the silence…

Time's up, the group from the prison is already upon them…

xxxxxxxxxx

Life is ironic sometimes…

The very place they once attacked is now their safe haven…

Those that were left in Woodbury after the Governor's rampage, mostly women that were not fit to use a gun, children and the elderly, were now living on the prison. Martinez knows the reason of course, why they choose to bring the survivors here instead of moving out from the prison.

Woodbury is safe, yes, but only against bitters, against humans however…not so much…

There were those who protested of course, namely Rowan, she could not bring herself to believe that the Governor was the one to kill the attack group, not even when Karen stepped up to tell what had happened, she was loyal to him, firmly believing that they had betrayed the man and that he only defended himself.

But when she was faced with the threat of being left behind in the Ghost Town that was once called Woodbury she had no choice but to join them…

They were safe again…

And so, Martinez and Shumpert were locked in a cell, the last remaining soldiers of the Governor, and the last two of the original group, Merle took the majority out, the ones remaining were killed by Governor himself.

They were not trusted…

And they were put in that cell while the group decided on their fate…

"God damn, this is like waiting to be executed, it's driving me fucking insane" the words are full of bitterness, but still, a broken smile spreads across Martinez's lips "I just wish they made up their damn minds already…"

Leaning against the back wall, Shumpert can only bring himself to nod at his words…

And then, the sound of footsteps breaks the silence of the abandoned cellblock, they were locked away from prying ears, a perfect place to end them without alarming the other people.

However, the sight that greeted them was not one of a firing squad, instead, a young girl no older than seventeen stepped slowly into their view. She was a pretty thing, long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, dressed in jeans and a white sweater; her hands holding two plates full of food…

"Rick told to bring you some food" she says, her soft voice echoes in the empty cellblock "I know it's not much, but I hope you enjoy it…"

Shumpert moves taking the plates from her through the hole in the cell door, nodding quietly towards her, he hands one of the plates to Martinez before returning to the back wall to start eating his food.

"So, this is the last meal kind of deal?...that guy Rick finally decided to kill us?" the question takes her by surprise, but none the less she answers…

"They are still talking about it…" and then she looks straight at him, the sad look on her blue eyes is almost heartbreaking, it was clear that despite being so young she had already endured a lot of pain and sacrifice "For what is worth, I hope they let you stay, too many people have died already"

And then she was gone, letting both men to their meals…

xxxxxxxxxx

"What should we do?"

Rick's question goes unanswered…

Before him the original group plus Tyreese and Sasha stands quiet, all gathered in the prison yard, away from the ears of the new residents of their safe haven.

Faced with silence, the former sheriff goes on "I don't know this guys, but Karen says they are trustworthy" he pauses, his attention turns to the newest members of the group "Tyreese, Sasha, you guys were in Woodbury, what can you say about them?"

Brother and sister exchange a glance before speaking "Not much to tell, they were trusted by the Governor…" Tyreese turns to his sister, encouraging her to speak "They were always following orders, not once did I see them question the man" she says, eyes moving to every member of the group.

"Those guys can be useful now that we've more people ta protect" this time it is Daryl who speaks "I've seen that Martinez guy in action, he can take walkers like the best of us…even if he is a douchebag" even in the heavy tension of the moment his words do not fail to bring a smile to the faces of the group.

If only for a moment…

"They can't stay…" this time is Glenn who speaks up "Those two were there when Maggie and I were taken, they are the ones who took us down when we tried to escape" his voice is calm, but still, everyone can feel the quiet anger in them, and Maggie can only bring herself to nod in agreement.

"We have to be fair here" like always, Hershel is the voice of reason in the group, his firm yet gentle tone makes the others go silent "They were just following orders, no different from Merle" he pauses a moment, his gaze turning to the younger Dixon.

Daryl nods quietly, no saying a word over the mention of his late brother; he knows that Hershel speaks the truth.

"If we are going to put them out there by themselves, we should do it for the right reasons, not just for payback…after all, they did kill the Governor" with that the man fell silent again, waiting for the outcome.

With a tired sigh, Rick turned to address the whole group "Well, I believe it's time to put this to vote"

xxxxxxxxxx

They were visited again hours after the food was brought to them…

This time however they were taken out of the cell, escorted by whole group, all of them with weapons ready, they were not taking any chances.

They were led to the yard, for a second Martinez thought that the moment of their deaths had arrived. He was wrong of course, once outside the group visibly relaxed lowering their weapons.

Well…

Almost all of them lowered their weapons; Gleen and Michonne were still pointing the guns at them…

"Well, are you gonna go through with it or not?!" Martinez questioned, challenging them to fire, besides him Shumpert remained quiet, his face betraying no emotion.

The question takes the group by surprise quickly realizing that they were standing in line in front of the two, much like a firing line…

Rick took a step forward, always the leader it was his job to deal with the situation "We're not going to kill you…" he pauses, tossing a warning glance to Glenn and Michonne making them lower the guns "But you can't stay either…"

Martinez and Shumpert exchange a look and then turn to the ex-sheriff "So, you will kill us without getting your hands dirty, tossing us out like this?" this time it is Shumpert who speaks, his deep voice calm and collected.

Martinez nods besides him "Not wanna waste your bullets you fucking pussis?"

This time those words hit a nerve, Rick moves fast, boldly stepping towards them, hand going to the grip of his resolver "We got more than enough reason to put a fucking bullet in your heads and toss your damn bodies to the walkers!" he pauses pointing an accusing finger to them "You both attacked us more than once, in one of them you killed one of our own, you destroyed the towers so now we have to guard this place from the ground, make no mistake, you are alive just because you killed that son of a bitch!"

In that situation any other person would have been terrified, facing an angry enemy more than willing to blow your brains out, yet both men remained unfazed by Rick's words, serving under the Governor would do that to you.

"You'll have your weapons back, along with some ammo and food, take one of the cars left behind during your attack and never come back"

And with that the sheriff was gone…

Tyreese and Sasha moved forward, leaving in front of them a box of supplies along with their weapons...

"Good luck" was the only thing that the former football player said to them…

Only Glenn, Daryl and Michonne remained behind to make sure that the both of them left, ready to take them out if it was needed.

"C'mon Shump, let's get the fuck out of here"

The silent man nodded, taking the box of supplies while Martinez took the weapons…

Minutes later they both were driving out of the gate held open by Glenn…

The big camouflaged Ford Bronco sped past the abandoned hummer and its jammed gun, past the overturned bus and out of the prison.

Never to return…

Maybe…

* * *

**Well, this was fun to write, It is also my fist Walking dead Fic…**

**Now, I can't guarantee that the next chapters will be this long, I have a hard time writing in English, not because I can't write well, its because when I write in English I found myself completing a chapter with only a few hundred words.**

**Anyway, I hope you like this, please leave your reviews, they served as encouragement to keep writing this story.**

**Side-note: The Ford Bronco is the one they use to open the front gate and rip the door leading to the entrance of the cellblock…god I love that truck!**


	2. Four months later

**I am What I am**

**Chapter 2: Four months later…**

Someone once told him that the world only reveals its true nature when a man is alone, truly alone and freed from all burdens…

Now, Martinez knows that at least some of those words are true, while he is not alone, he is undeniably free…

No more people depending on him to be protected, no more people waiting to be feed…

No…

Those days are over…

Any food, any ammo, any gas, it is only for them, no one else has the right to ask for anything…

It is certainly easier to manage food when there're only two people to be feed and it's even easier to move from one place to another, however, their actual situation it's a double edged sword, if they are set upon by a herd or another pack of survivors, they would surely by outnumbered and would most likely get killed.

Still…is not like they were completely helpless.

The first thing they did after leaving the prison was to take a trip to the place they once called home…

Woodbury…

The prison group had taken all the food and medical supplies…

The armory, however, was mostly intact…but the ammo was gone.

That's the thing about firearms, you can have as many as you like but without ammo they are completely useless…

They were pleasantly surprised to find their rooms intact, thanks to that both men were able to procure extra clothes, along with their preferred weapons…

For Martinez, his metal baseball bat…

For Shumpert, his self bow and a quiver full of arrows…

Both weapons were a good way to save ammo and better yet, that gave them a silent way to take out bitters.

It was hard for them at first…

They became painfully aware that hunting was not an option for them to get food, even if Shumpert was a great shot with the bow, neither of them could track for shit.

The only option was to make runs…

And after four months of surviving, the last soldiers of Woodbury find themselves making another run…

The Ford Bronco comes to a stop in the main street of what used to be a small town, the sight is quite familiar to them by now, cars left in the middle of the road, buildings with broken windows and of course…silence.

Both men exit their vehicle, both wearing jackets…

The air is getting colder; the winter draws ever close…

They need as much food as they can get to survive the winter and the risk of getting sick is a reality, one cannot afford to get sick, without medicine it could prove fatal.

Martinez looks around before checking his weapon making sure the clip is full, on the other side of the truck Shumpert secures the quiver on his back before turning to his companion.

"Okay Shump…you know the drill, you do the silent killing and I'll step in if things get dirty".

With that they both move into the abandoned town, Shumpert takes the lead, bow and arrow ready while Martinez follows behind.

The main street is empty, littered with abandoned cars...still, they know that if they get careless one bitter can come out of nowhere and get a good chance to kill them.

"Martinez…over there" the big man nods towards the building on the right side at the end of the street, an old grocery store. The building is mostly intact, the windows are not broken and the door is closed, hopefully there's still something left.

They move quickly, silently, taking careful steps and looking to every corner…

The town is silent…

It is only when they are about to reach the door that the silence is broken by a low growl, then another, and another, and another…

Three walkers appear around the corner just besides the grocery store; the creatures take immediate notice of the two men and move to them, their steps slowly but surely close the distance between them and their future meal.

However, Shumpert is ready…

The first arrow pierces the head of the closest bitter with a sickening sound, the second one flies before the first objective hits the ground, the lone bitter is soon joined by another on the floor.

With practiced ease Shumpert quickly nocks another arrow taking aim and letting it fly watching with satisfaction as the arrow punches a hole through the bitter's head.

And with that the bitters are no more…

Shumpert nods towards Martinez before moving to the door of the grocery store, the door is locked, both men exchange a glance.

"You ready?"

Martinez smirks and nods "Let's see if we can get us some food".

Shumpert shoulders his bow and unsheathes his knife before delivering a devastating kick to the door, under the force of the blow the door opens and both men step inside…

It is a small room, a couple of aisles and a counter in the back…

No sign of bitters…

"Let's take a look around" Martinez says while he moves to the left, Shumpert follows his example and moves to the right, they check the room in no time, there's no danger and the aisles are filled with canned goods.

"I'll go get the truck" and with that the silent man moves out of the building…

Minutes later they are loading the food on the back of the Ford Bronco, they work quickly, not wanting to expend too much time in the town, sure it looks empty, but there's no telling of what lurks inside the buildings. It is a good day, the food will surely last them for the whole winter.

However, they still needed medical supplies…

Closing up the back of the truck, the former right hand man of the Governor turns to take a look around "We need to look for a pharmacy of something, we really need some medicine" Martinez readies his weapon before slowly moving down the street "Take the truck and follow me"

And they move, Martinez takes the lead moving through the middle of the street while Shumpert follows behind in the truck. They search building after building, street after street but in the end there's no place where they can find medical supplies.

Standing next to the driver's window Martinez lets out a disappointed sigh "Damn it, what kind of shitty town doesn't have a pharmacy?!" Martinez is obviously bothered, but Shumpert lets out a chuckle before giving his friend an answer.

"The small kind or the kind were people don't get sick"

Martinez flips him off…

But before he can tell his friend to go fuck himself something catches his attention, a small flash of light in the roof of one of the buildings down the street behind them…

It only takes a second for the realization to hit him; his reaction is almost automatic…

There's a fucking sniper aiming down at them…

"Oh shit!" in one quick move Martinez jumps to the side covering himself in the front of the truck barely dodging the shot that would have surely killed him.

The unknown enemy starts to fire wildly; the shots hit the truck one after another…

"Martinez!"

"The red building down the street, on the roof!"

It was time to counterattack…

Martinez moves from the front of the truck as Shumpert opens the driver side door giving his companion some cover…

The MP5K and the Norinco Type 56 roar as they lay full automatic fire to the place where the sniper was…

They fire until both weapon clips are empty…

There's silence…

The sniper is gone…

"I don't think that piece of shit is dead, but this place is gonna be crawling with bitters after all that noise, let's get the fuck out of here"

Shumpert just nods closing the door and waiting for his friend to get on the truck…

They have managed to drive off their attacker, maybe even wound him if they were lucky…

"Shump, before we leave, take one of the streets behind that building; let's see if our attacker left his car behind"

The street was devoid of cars, and there was no evidence of someone leaving in haste, no tire tracks…which meant that their attacker arrived on foot. They stop just behind the building, ready to step out and search the place…

However, they found that it was not necessary…

The back door of the building opens slowly making way for a blonde haired man holding into his wounded brown haired companion, the rifle on his left hand gives away both their identities…

They had found their attackers…

Still, both men are unaware that they had been discovered and continue to slowly move towards the street…

Armed with his bow Shumpert takes aim and lets the projectile fly…

The arrow hits home piercing the leg of the blonde man holding the rifle, both men hit the ground with a pained cry, one because of the bullet wound on his shoulder and the other because of the arrow sticking out of his leg.

Before they can even begin to try a move, Martinez and Shumpert are there, a swift kick to the ribs of the blonde guy, courtesy of Martinez, makes him let go of the rifle, besides him on the ground the brown haired guy is in no shape to help.

"Please, please don't kill us!" the brown haired guy starts to cry, begging and pleading for their lives…

"Well, that's something funny coming from the guy who tried to kill us!" Martinez puts the MP5K to his head "Who the hell are you guys anyway?!"

The blonde guy still lays in the ground holding his wounded leg In far too much pain to talk, but the brown haired one is more than willing to answer.

"M-My name is Charlie and my friend is called Albert" he says, voice shaking, "Please, don't kill us, we were just trying to get some food!" those words earn him a punch to the face, the blow knocks him to his side…

"Well, you fucked up the very moment you tried to kill us" Martinez nods towards Shumpert and steps back.

The silent man takes an arrow from his quiver and nocks it…

Lying on the ground, poor Charlie can't do anything to defend himself as Shumpert aims the arrow straight at his head.

"NO PLEAS-!"

And his words are cut short as the arrow pierces his skull point blank range…

The ex-Woodbury soldiers turn to the last remaining attacker…

Albert is staring horrified at the body of his companion, scared out of his mind, once the attacker, now he is nothing more than a helpless victim.

"Is your lucky day Albert" Martinez's voice carries a heavy tone of sarcasm "You get to take us to your camp" he pauses for a second, nodding towards Charlie's lifeless body and Shumpert who is at the moment removing the arrow from his skull "Your buddy Charlie was dead, he just didn't know it, he would have probably bleed out on the road and we can't have someone going bitter on us"

Martinez takes hold of his arm and pull the man to his feet, minding the leg with the arrow "Make no mistake, if you try to screw with us, I'll put a bullet in your head"

And Albert can only bring himself to nod, too scared to say a word…

xxxxxxxxxx

Somewhere else, a grey Dodge Ram was speeding down a lonely road, the back was fully loaded with gas drums and boxes of canned food.

"Are you ok babe?"

Maggie snaps out of her trance, besides her, Glenn gives her a knowing smile before turning his attention back to the road.

"You have been staring at that ring for a long while…again"

A pretty blush spreads across of cheeks, obviously embarrassed to be catch while daydreaming, still, she could barely believe it herself, she was engaged…

In this twisted world, something this small, something this pure was the world for her…

Now that the Governor was dead, Rick allowed them to go for a run together, after all, they needed all the food they could get before winter, more so because there were a lot more people to feed.

They were going back now, they were lucky to find a store full of food and water; it was a good day and a job well done.

Suddenly Glenn lowers the speed before finally stopping the truck…

"What the hell?" he whispers…

The road was blocked; three seemingly abandoned vehicles lay on the road, leaving them no way to go through.

Something was wrong…

They knew that much…

The road was clear the first time they drove to the town…

Left with no choice, they both stepped out of the truck, weapons ready…

Glenn holding his MK.18 Mod 0…

Maggie with her scoped M4…

Everything was quiet…

They were in a troubling position, with forest on both sides of the road, easy targets out in the open; they needed to get one of the cars out of the way…

Fast…

"You go, I'll cover you" Maggie says, aiming to through the scope of her rifle at the surrounding forest, trying and failing to find a sign of danger.

Glenn moves to the car in the middle, walking quietly, the feeling that something terrible was gonna happen drumming with every beat of his heart.

And then…

The silence shattered…

The peaceful days were over...

A shot rang out….

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter…**

**It is important to point out that none of the characters in this chapter are OC's, I don't use OC's. Those who follow the comics probably already who those guys were…**

**Side notes: The weapons that Maggie and Glenn are using are the ones the use to repel the attack from Woodbury. Also, nothing more awesome than a execution with Bow and Arrow.**


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